ORIGIN

Ex-Le Mans: 1988 Nissan R88C Group C Prototype

This 1988 R88C Group C car has an interesting race history including a run at the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of only four built, this car is powered by a twin-turbocharged, 2996 CC, DOHC V8 with 740+ HP on tap. In the final years before chicanes were added, similar Group C protoypes would regularly hit 250+ MPH on Mulsanne–we weren’t able to confirm exactly how fast the R88C went, but it’s likely to be close to that number. Find it here at Oakfields in Hampshire, England for 550k GBP (~$903,100 today).

The car looks fantastic in Nissan’s iconic blue and white Calsonic tribute, and based on nothing more than looks is our second favorite Japanese Le Mans competitor behind the awe inspiring Mazda 787B. The car has always worn number 23, and also retains Le Mans roof markings and driver rosters. At Le Sarthe this car eventually suffered a DNF after an engine failure on lap 286, but its sister car would go on to finish 14th overall,

Inside the car is all business, with a thin, composite seat shell with minimal padding bolted directly to a bare metal tub. By modern Le Mans prototype standards it’s all very primitive, particularly the plain steering wheel with only one button. A centrally located, NISMO branded tach, massive boost gauge, and various other vitals monitors are spread around a simple sheet metal dash, with the 5-speed’s shifter positioned to the right on a very wide door sill. The ad itself contains no photos of the interior or engine, while all others are rather small–the shots here are taken from this ultimatecarpage.com link which appear to be of this very same car.

Another contrast with more recent Le Mans monsters is that this car runs what appears to be a central, aluminum tub with tubular steel subframes front and rear, the only visible carbon on display belonging to a massive venturi tunnel, though bodywork is likely to be made of the stuff as well. Nissan’s VRH30T V8 is tightly packed and surrounded plumbing for cooling, fuel, oil, and a pair of IHI turbos and their associated intercoolers. Like all high end racers the level of engineering and build quality on display is nearly off the charts. There’s no mention of how original this example remains, or what its current level of trackworthiness is, but at nearly a million bucks we’d like to imagine it’s tuned and ready to race.

If you’re not convinced that owning an ex-Le Mans competing Group C machine from the golden era of turbocharged excess would be a worthwhile endeavor, there’s not much we can say to convince you otherwise. This one speaks for itself, and carries a very big stick.

43 Comments

Ray’s a fussy fella. If it ain’t an absolute chequered flag finisher, spit on it and kick it away with your boot heel. Sometimes it’s about what it is , not what it was. You don’t have to explain anything to anyone if your car is at Goodwood

@RDH- to drive home the point (of maintenance mania), the driver of the 962 was not allowed to back it into the pit stall. he had to get out and let a porsche tech take over. once the car had raced a two seasons porsche retired it and it went into storage. then sold back into storage. i like these group c cars. it took guts to drive them hard.

……Le Mans is never kind to outsiders, Ford being the only other interloper in the last 50 years, that’s just the way it is, and I think most people spending a million dollars would want a car more closely identified with this classic race. By coincidence, there’s another great story on the net today involving a practical joke on the current owner of the Whiittington brothers’ LeMans winning 911 variant.

…..piarello, ….Nissan would gladly have traded all the IMSA, Japanese Sports Car, and other wins in it’s history for that one elusive victory at Le Mans. Unfortunately for them, The folks at Mazda are the only Rising Sun company with that tin cup in their boardroom. If it’s any consolation, Toyota spent countless more millions in a similar fruitless pursuit.

Ray – Are you kidding? …. “Nissan’s embarrassing failure to crack the top levels of motorsport?” Nissan did well more than crack it. Dominated it is what I’d say and these were the cars that led up to it. I doubt anyone at Goodwood or anywhere else would question what this car was doing at any gathering of significant racing cars.

………like others have mentioned, that’s a pile of quid for a tribute to Nissan’s embarrassing failure to crack the top levels of motorsport. Even if you had the bankroll to fund the professional team required to campaign it again, who would want to have to explain the car’s ignominious history to most people in the paddock at Goodwood……..”oh, yes, that’s my R88, I’ve nicknamed her the Datsun Disaster, picked her up for a song……..er, no, it didn’t quite manage a win…….er, no, it’s not the one that finished 14th, 50 laps down……..actually, the blasted thing never quite finished”.

All my Gran-Turismo dreams laid bare… when things like this come up it always makes my day. I love seeing how the digital images look next to the real deal. simply awesome, and to think of the speeds those guys traveled at on those roads…

Over here in the UK we have a series for group C cars with big grids including lots of 956s and 962s, sauber mercedes, Nissans, Lancias, March etc etc they regularly sell for that money I would say its average price for a group c car over here. I know of many cars that have exchanged hands for well over a million £.

Notice how the Mazdas are the ones that appear at historic events? The rotaries are much cheaper and more reliable over time than the others, IMO. The internals of the rotaries are not much different than the street cars, most of the difference is materials selection and treatments, and clearances. New parts might be as unobtainium as the others, but rebuilds are few and far between if the oil and cooling systems are kept up, and the rev limits are obeyed. The 787B has a really simple powerplant, at a fundamental level.

We need a wealthy Japanese man to buy this and get it street legal. They’ve done it with 962s and the like, and I think this would be a great candidate. If you haven’t seen them, there are some great vids of these insane chaps that drive these things on the street. Incredible.

I did my apprenticeship in Product Engineering at Jaguar in the mid 80’s and we traveled to Silverstone, Brands Hatch and LeMans in ’87 and the Group C racers were the pinnacle of speed at the time, eclipsing what F1 and Indy cars were capable of at the top end and also in terms of reliability (imagine trying to get a DFX to run for 24 hours straight at full power). That year, Win Percy had a tyre failure on the Mulsanne that launch him into the woods late at night. He got out of the demolished car which is a credit to the strength of the tubs. I remember when a Group C XJR8 or 9 went through a collectors car auction in the UK not long after in the early 90s and sold for about GBP 60K. Coulda Woulda Shoulda.

As many others have said, supposing you have the money to buy this, then what? I’ve been thinking about it since the DTM Alfa came up a few days ago.

If this is like a lot of high-end race cars, even if nothing breaks, it probably requires an engine rebuild by an F1-level mechanic after every few uses. Granted, this was a LeMans car, so it should have decent durability, but it’s also a quarter-century old. If some part does break (or gets broken, because let’s be honest, who here has the skill to actually drive this thing?) chances are it’s one of a kind.

Sometimes im glad i don’t have this sort of coin to go shopping for a new toy. Me: the Toyota 2000gt with 150hp or the le mans Nissan r88c with 740+hp. Hmmmm. Missus: whatever makes you happy darling. Ok the Nissan. No wait the Toyota.Oh heck and darn!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything but the GTP-ZX/NPT-91 Nissans stateside. Recently, the aural pleasure of a few IMSA Mazdas was provided at the Sebring historics. And at the ’93 12 Hours, Mazda brought one of the modified 878Bs, but withdrew when they couldn’t meet the sound limit. What sounds during practice, though!

Ghost Chaser, it’s a shame most cars like these end up exactly as you describe. The required engineering support isn’t just expensive, it’s so specific to each vehicle that even rounding up the handful of people needed can be a challenge. When there’s no spares package, forget it. Combined with a performance envelope not intended for mere mortals? Expensive static display.

Typical Brits pricing, remove the POUND and add dollars sign and it might make more sense. They should come over here and buy everything vintage at dollar prices and then change it to POUND pricing and they can laugh all the way to the bank based on how they price stuff.

Matches neither my pocketbook, nor my driving talent, but oh do I want this. In Europe they run a Group C historics, and I think it’s great that these have an opportunity to get out on track and thrill drivers and spectators alike. The Nissan is a nice change from the ubiquitous 956 / 962 of the era.

a few years ago i was helping a friend sell a 962. the car was 100% original, had raced at Le Mans, and was being offered by the original owner/driver along with a truckload of spare parts. the asking price was more or less the same as this car above. no one would touch the damn thing with a ten foot pole. it finally went into a private collection, simply going from one secret storage facility to another (and not more than 50 miles apart).

Milestone era, amazing cars. But I can’t fathom who — unless it’s one of our “invisible” private collectors with untold amounts of play money — could possibly manage the care and feeding of one of these beasts.

A single afternoon on the track, with transportation, crew, spares, tires, fuel, post-outing freshenings, setup and fees, assuming nothing big broke, would probably be $25-30K. For eight hours of pants-wetting, mind-boggling speed and thrills. Big ticket times, for sure. If I were at the controls, you’d hear two wild sounds on Lime Rock’s front straight — that lovely V8, overwhelmed by insane noises from me.